What would you do if you caught an irish record fish?

Paparazzo

Would you keep it, or put it back? Say for instance a salmon/trout, something that would make national newspapers. Would you just take a few photos, or would you come straight in and weigh it in a butchers?

peterk19

weigh it take a few photos and send on its way to get bigger and caught again

bmarley

stuff it:D

SeaFields

peterk19 wrote: »

weigh it take a few photos and send on its way to get bigger and caught again

+1

Best leave it off to fight another day. Photos last as much of a lifetime as stuffed fish do.

CarrickMcJoe

Wallop Bertie Ahearn across the face with it.

Then let it go.

Paparazzo

It's not much use taking it, i think "stuffed" fish are tacky. OK for the pub i suppose. Although, I'd be seriously pissed off if someone caught it a couple of weeks later and it was an ounce heavier and they kept it.

ironbluedun

bmarley wrote: »

stuff it:D

that costs a fortune these days

ironbluedun

take a big 10 inch knife out of me bag rambo style like batter the shyte out of it then post a load of sad videos on the net so i could blow me own trumpet.......


i would take photo and let it go to help to keep the genetic genepool of big fish intact, what real use would i have for it?

Paparazzo

ironbluedun wrote: »

that costs a fortune these days

If you got a big one, a local pub would pay for it. A record trout would attract plenty of customers

stevecrow74

unfortunately i have caught such fish and returned then with out pic, until i got home and checked that what I caught was not only specimen but at least a few pounds over the record...
now i always carry digital scales and a camera while fishing so at least I know I caught a good one before I release it back to the wilds!..

coolwings

I returned one.

LoneWatie

coolwings wrote: »

I returned one.

What fish in ireland?
did you have any proof or was the satisfaction knowing yourself enough

coolwings

Who needs proof? Not myself. Other people I might brag to?
I learned long ago that is how you lose a quiet fishing place.

Compton

Personally if it was a game fish I think I'd knock it in the head and get it stuffed.. If it was coarse I'd obviously return it..

coolwings

There are alternatives to killing and stuffing and mounting a trophy fish.

Obviously the camera .... but photoshop and the Walter Mitty anglers who use it have taken from the easily accepted reliability of photos.

But you can have a physical memento other ways too.
I have a double figure trout mounted on the wall beside me right now. But it is not the body of the fish, it's an exact carved replica of the specimen I caught. Cost more than stuffing, but even more rare too. Done by Dr Peter Lyne in UK, who I have lost track of.


Other attractive alternatives
There are fish artists who paint your fish, or you and your fish. They need good photos to work with but they are true masters of what they do. Not cheap either, but not a general fish painting, a unique and personalised memento of the specific trophy fish that will last the rest of your life.
Feast your eyes on these by derek de Young

his website: http://canvasfish.com/

and these by PaulPuckett

his website: http://www.catchandreleasepaintings.com/

If you are interested here are two in depth mp3 file interviews with those fish artists:
http://www.itinerantangler.com/podcasts/podcast58.mp3
http://www.itinerantangler.com/podcasts/podcast59.mp3

Compton

I've seen a few of those sculptures before and tbh they look awful and don't really have the character of the real fish..

spaceHopper

shblob wrote: »

I've seen a few of those sculptures before and tbh they look awful and don't really have the character of the real fish..

So do stuffed fish.
Catch it, keep it for the table or put it back

bitemybanger

A dead fish can't be caught twice.
Weigh it (with certified scales of course):cool:
Take a few photos and a scale sample if possible.
And the memories that you can take with of catching and releasing a record fish.

coolwings

The thing is that record fish have special genes for fast growth, disease resistance, longevity. Valuable genetic traits that are absent in other lesser fish. Their reproduction is necessary for big fish in the future.
So the future big fish are in a certain way contained in these fish right now.
Just like farmers and racehorse breeders breed from the best to get the best. There is no good reason to catch and kill the very big wild fish, they are worth more as spawning stock.

Compton

bitemybanger wrote: »

A dead fish can't be caught twice.
Weigh it (with certified scales of course):cool:
Take a few photos and a scale sample if possible.
And the memories that you can take with of catching and releasing a record fish.

If you release it the next person will probably kill it :rolleyes:

It does depend though I think on where I caught it (if!!). Like the stocks in the river and the general size of fish. If it was coloured I'd 100% release it.

coolwings

The bigger it is the less chance I would kill it!
It's called protecting your fishing and ensuring it continues for your future use!
I prefer be able to fish for its similar large sized descendents over the next 10 years too without having to drive to new distant waters that are not ruined.

Plenty of small runts around to keep for food if that's what you need.

Compton

I drive across the country to go fishing every week anyway!!

bitemybanger

I honestly can't remember the last time I took a wild fish for the plate apart from a few mackerel most seasons.
Catching and killing large hen pike makes me sick not to mention it's against the law. It's an all to common occurrence when we see pike caught and killed and usualy decapitated and just left on the bank to rot.
In my local game fishing club if a pike is caught it is killed on the spot. The abundance of coarse fish in the river as a result of a lack of predatory fish would have a far larger impact on wild trout or salmon stocks than a normal amount of pike in a river.

Compton

I never keep Pike either, I'd only keep Salmon or Trout and release 95% of fish myself, but tbh, if a big one made an appearance I think I couldn't resist tbh..

jack01986

Id have to let it go I don't think Id be able to forgive myself for keeping something as special as that.

LoneWatie

coolwings wrote: »

Who needs proof? Not myself. Other people I might brag to?
I learned long ago that is how you lose a quiet fishing place.

Coolwings i was not one for one minute questioning your integrity.
Just wondered if could see a photo of said fish.
Your a very knowledgeable fisherman and helpful poster.

coolwings

Don't actually know if I still have photos. Prints, not digital since it's several years ago. Probably in a big box of fishing stuff in the attic! Sea fish. A torsk, it would have been the first ratified here. Looks very like a baby ling, or a big rockling.
At the time you had to kill due to resemblence to other species, I just took photos and measured and returned.
I don't like to get over specific about fish, so my mistake mentioning it at all. I've plenty of unpleasant experiences from being specific about fish. Even being seen from a distance catching fish has caused problems. Something most anglers have to learn and other anglers teach it to them.

ironbluedun

shblob wrote: »

I never keep Pike either, I'd only keep Salmon or Trout and release 95% of fish myself, but tbh, if a big one made an appearance I think I couldn't resist tbh..

This is a big part of the problem anglers in Ireland we are still to a certain extent stuck in a 'by gone age' when quality game fish were plenty.

I think it will take the next generation of anglers or even the one after that to fully realise that conservation is the key. Gladly things are changing but very slowly. But in all fairness a so called record fish is hard to return to the water alive. To do such a thing is a measure of the status, maturity and knowledge of the angler in question. To me those people deserve far more respect as knowledgeable anglers far above the angler who is boastful and self indulgent. Such fishermen miss the whole point of angling. We can not kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

The comments made about preserving genetically larger fish are very valid, not all fish can grow big.

coolwings

There is a question that we ask ourselves when we are looking at a big fish.
It is this:
Do I feel good enough to release this fish, or to feel good must I show others prove to doubting people that I caught it?
We all have our own answer.
A camera and roll up tape measure comes in handy if we feel a bit worried we may never see such a great fish again.
A certain amount of confidence, or self reliance that we actually will do better next year helps a lot.

But the biggest help to wanting to release your fish is to stop bragging to others about your catches, and find out how more undisturbed your favourite places can become in the absence of unwanted fish removing "other" anglers.
When you mind your spots in this way, you catch more from those same places and your fishing results improve.

mcgratheoin

coolwings wrote: »

There are fish artists who paint your fish, or you and your fish. They need good photos to work with but they are true masters of what they do. Not cheap either, but not a general fish painting, a unique and personalised memento of the specific trophy fish that will last the rest of your life.

A mate of mine is an artist and did a portrait for his brother who fishes http://www.daviddunneart.com/images/paintings/fishingPainting.jpg

coolwings

That's brilliant!